The blog of the University of Edinburgh's PIR subject area

New UK bill on illegal immigrants: The lure of symbolic politics

The government’s proposed new measures to crack down on illegal immigrants are a textbook case of symbolic politics. Many have already pointed out that the measures are misdirected. The overwhelming ‘pull’ factor for migrants entering the UK (or any other country) is opportunities on the informal labour market. Plus, in many cases, the fact that they may have friends or relatives already settled in the country. So the effect of making it more difficult for such people to access accommodation, health treatment or other services will be to render them more susceptible to exploitation, or more reliant on other co-ethnics who can ill-afford additional obligations.